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World of Motion was a whimsical
look at the development of transportation from the human foot
to a bustling futuristic city. Housed in a wheel-shaped building,
the ride showcased the theme that developments in transportation
have allowed us to be free to have fun and to go wherever we would
like. The attraction had a different approach to its subject than
the other pavilions in Future World. This was influenced by Disney
animator and Imagineer Ward Kimball's humoristic touch. X Atencio
along with Buddy Baker penned the lyrics and music to the show's
theme song "It's Fun to Be Free." At the exit to the
ride, was General Motors' TransCenter where guests
could see how automated robots assemble vehicles and where prototypes
of new kinds of transportation vehicles were on display.

General Motors was the first company to sign with Disney to sponsor
an EPCOT pavilion. The company signed a 10-year contract in December
1977. The pavilion opened on October 1, 1982. Its grand opening
with GM executives and the press was held on October 5, 1982.
When the contract ran out in 1992, GM was facing cutbacks and
layoffs because of the slumping economy. The company could not
decide whether to renew its sponsorship (which would mean costly
renovations or a whole new ride as Disney wanted) or to simply
end its association with Disney and EPCOT.

Ticket for World of Motion Grand
Opening

GM decided to renew its sponsorship for one year. They felt that
would give them time to figure out if their EPCOT presence was
beneficial to them and at the same time not let a competing company
take their place. It also gave them another year to see if the
industry turned around so they would have money to spend on a
new attraction. At the end of the year, GM met with Disney and
signed a new contract (presumably for ten years). World
of Motion would remain open while a new ride was developed
by Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) and General Motors.

This time, GM wanted to show guests something that focused specifically
on the automobile end of transportation. They went back to one
of WDI's original concepts for the Motion pavilion; one that would
let guests experience how cars are tested before being manufactured
for the public. Imagineers remembered their trip to GM's Milford
Proving Ground in 1976 and thought that it had potential for an
attraction. WDI re-visited GM's proving grounds in the early 90s
and along with GM created a Test Track that would
put guests in the seats of the test car instead of test dummies.

Over a span of a few years, Test Track was developed
through concept art, models, and an accurate, detailed computerized
version. This allowed the designers to see exactly what guests
would see in the finished attraction. Imagineers came up with
several concepts for the ride vehicles from futuristic pods to
race cars to cars without wheels. Albert Yu came up with the design
they selected: a vehicle that was not too futuristic looking,
that made sense to be a test vehicle, and that represented more
than just one of GM's product lines. With the vehicle's design
settled on, a gas powered prototype vehicle was built and tested
in Glendale, CA (WDI's home). Next, Imagineers and GM engineers
got to work designing the guts of the car which would make it
go. The car had to run on electricity, move at high speeds, go
a million miles, and last for many years.

World of Motion's last day of operation was
January 2, 1996. Its contents were removed completely. Outside
the building, the new track was assembled that would eventually
send guests around the building. The GM Test Track Preview
Center opened in February 1996. GM executives, designers,
and Walt Disney Imagineers showed scale models, concept art, layout
diagrams, and one of the Test Track ride vehicles to the press
to announce the new project. A large mural painted by French artist
Catherine Feff was unveiled. The Preview Center featured a few
concept drawings of the new ride and a video showing a piece of
the computerized test version of the ride. GM cars and trucks
were available for guests to sit in as used to be at the exit
to World of Motion. Work inside and outside progressed
on schedule. The opening date for the new ride was set for May
1997. The target date for all of the show elements to be assembled,
in place, and working was met. The only problem was that the ride
vehicles would not operate as they should.

The first problem encountered was that the wheels would not stand
up to the wear and tear of going from a complete stop to accelerating
up a hill or around the loops in a matter of seconds repeatedly.
The tires were redesigned and strengthened to meet the ride's
demands. That problem solved, attention was turned to a larger
problem. Being a highly complex, sophisticated, and high-speed
ride, there was no room for error. Each ride vehicle was programmed
to stop if it entered the safety zone of another vehicle for safety
reasons. Unfortunately, the computer program written to run the
show could not handle more than about six cars running on the
track at the same time without shutting down. The number of cars
needed to meet the capacity requirements was twenty-nine. This
required designers to rewrite the computer program and continually
test the ride. The number of cars was steadily increased until
everything worked. One designer said it was amazing to see the
cars flawlessly cycling through the building after all that testing.
This process took another year and a half.

In the meantime, guests outside the pavilion at the Preview
Center could get a glimpse of cars being tested as they
whizzed by every once in a while. When the spring 1997 opening
date came and went, the bottom of the mural was changed to read
"Opening Soon" and then was just covered over completely.
In spring 1998, additional concept art was added on the blue construction
walls at the back of the Preview Center. A second, new preview
video looped continuously. Small holes were cut in the blue walls
giving guests a view of the front of the building. Sometimes a
Test Track ride vehicle would be sitting in doorway number 2.
Merchandise that had been produced for the opening date was available
for sale at a cart om front of the Preview Center beginning in
May 1997. It was also made available in the Centorium throughout
most of 1998.

In December 1998, the ride was finally ready. The Catherine Feff
mural was removed and two smaller signs were put on each side
of the covered entrance area. The one on the left read "Experience
Test Track. A new ride for the new year." The one on the
right simply had the Test Track logo, the Disney and GM logos,
and read "Imagination in Motion." GM executives tried
out the ride first, followed by Epcot and Disney marketing cast
members (Dec. 11), and then all other WDW cast members were invited
to preview the ride (Dec. 12 through 16). The attraction opened
to the public for limited previews during certain hours of the
day on December 19, 1998. The ride was still prone to breakdowns
as the kinks were worked out of the system. The signs on both
sides of the entrance area were changed again in early March 1999.
These final murals show paintings of parts of the ride. By the
time of Test Track's grand opening on March 17,
1999, the ride was operating all day long everyday.

The east side of Future World was closed early that night. Starting
the engine to officially open the ride were car racer Richard
Petty and supermodels Christie Brinkley, Angie Everhart, Carol
Alt, and Frederique. Fireworks burst overhead while special guests
and the press enjoyed musical groups Earth, Wind and Fire and
The Spinners.